Try Again
by nolongerwriting-x
Summary: He’s changed so much since last time I saw him. When we met, he was such a gentleman… He was so sweet, so kind. But, he’s changed. For x.Monster.x
1. Day By Day

**This wasn't going to be posted until school holidays in my mass update, because I'm still on hiatus, but Mel asked so nicely for me to post it. Here you go then Mel, this one's for you. **

**All I own is the idea. **

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_August 28__th__. _

"_Day by day nothing seems to change, but pretty soon everything is different."_

_If I had to choose one quote to sum up my life, that would be it. _

_Every day, I'd wake up and wonder what it would be like to do something interesting. Sure, I was headed towards my dream job with almost no chance of being turned down, but I was heading through a rough spot too. Back then, I was only in one or two cities a month, instead of the usual five to eight. Back then, I was training for only four hours a day, on four to five days a week as opposed to my usual six hours, seven days routine. Back then, people in my training ground were losing interest and heart when it came to what they did. I was the best, but I had no-one to challenge me. Back then, was when I met him. _

_He's changed so much since last time I saw him. When we met, he was such a gentleman… He was so sweet, so kind. But, he's changed. You know, it doesn't surprise me. I've never had much luck with men. All of them have either dumped me for someone else or blatantly cheated on me with some blonde bimbo who can barely do so much as spell her own name. _

_It's funny actually. People like me, born in November, are meant to be careful and cautious and to love deeply. I can't deny that I love deeply. I'm not one to cheat or to break someone's heart. I find someone and I stick with them. Careful and cautious however, don't seem to be the best words to describe me. If I were careful, I never would have dated those men who broke my hearts. If I were careful, I never would have ended up at the bottom of those stairs. If I were cautious, I would have realised earlier that they weren't the ones for me. If I were cautious, I never would have let __**him**__ buy me a drink. _

_If I were careful and cautious, none of this would have happened. _

--

**Four weeks previous**

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Melissa looked up from her new position on the ground, having just been knocked off the bottom stair on her way up. "I should really watch where I'm going."

The blonde standing above her just laughed. "No, it's my fault, I'm in a hurry. Here, let me help you." He offered his hand, which Melissa gladly took, and pulled her to her feet. He smiled at Melissa, who was clad in jeans and a plain black shirt despite the hot summer weather.

Melissa smiled back awkwardly, taking in all the details of the blonde. His hair rested on his shoulders and his bright blue eyes shone. He was in denim shorts and a wife beater, with flip-flops on his feet. He looked familiar, but Melissa couldn't place where she'd seen him.

"Again, I'm really sorry." Melissa looked at him.

"Don't worry about it." He glanced at his watch. "Damn, I better go. See you 'round!"

"I'm-." Melissa began, but stopped as he raced out the front door of the hotel, waving a last goodbye. With a small smile on her face, Melissa trudged up the stairs to her hotel room.

-

Shrugging her jacket higher on her shoulders, Melissa stepped into the club later that night. It was against her diet to drink, but she trained so much that a few drinks every now and again wouldn't hurt. Stepping up to the bar, she ordered a Southern and Coke. Something simple to start the night off. She sat and drank quietly as a fast-paced song started and a few young couples made their way to the middle of the large room, dancing out of time to the music.

Downing the last of her glass, she turned back and ordered another, brushing her dark hair off her face. She regretted wearing the jacket; the club was packed, and hot.

"Why don't you go have a dance?" The bartender offered as a slower song came over the speakers. "Surely a pretty young lady like you has a date?"

Taking a mouthful of her second drink, Melissa shook her head. "No date for me tonight."

"Why not? Men would be swarming around if they knew you were single. Or, is there a special someone who didn't want to come here?"

"My last boyfriend left me for someone else. Women want lots of things from the one man; men want one thing from lots of women." Melissa took a larger mouthful, almost draining her glass. "Why waste my time?"

The bartender took her glass, topping it up. "Now don't be like that. There's someone out there for you, sweetie."

"Right. I'll let you know when I find him." Melissa stood and turned quickly, heading towards the centre of the room, which had been turned into a dance floor.

"Watch-!" The bartender began, but too late.

Melissa was knocked off her feet for the second time that day. People bustled around; not paying attention to the young woman sprawled on the floor. She looked up and laughed when she realised who she'd ran into.

"I hope you don't intend on making this a habit."

The blonde shook his head, also laughing. "Of course not." He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Uh, we really didn't get introduced earlier. I'm Melissa." She said, after making sure that she was steady on her feet.

"I'm Zack; it's nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink?" He held out his hand to her and, smiling, she took it. He led her back to the bar, avoiding all the dancing couples, and ordered two drinks. As the bartender handed them over, he gave Melissa a knowing look.

"There's someone for everyone." He said quietly while Zack dug through his wallet for the correct change. "You just have to look in the right place."

--

_Two weeks after we met we went on our first official "date". I use quotation marks there because we weren't really boyfriend and girlfriend, but just good friends after only a few weeks. We went to the sweetest little restaurant, and afterwards we went to the beach. _

_I didn't realise until then, when we were lying in the sand under the setting sun how much I liked him. He was funny, friendly, and cute, he knew how to make me smile and he was just a really nice guy. Sure, I knew we were really good friends, but I liked him more than that. I wasn't game enough to tell him then though. Not when we were enjoying each other's company like we were. I didn't want to ruin anything, like I had in the past. Yeah, bad boyfriend history, remember? _

_But, like everything else in my life, that didn't go as planned either._

--

"What's going through your mind?" Zack murmured, running his hand through the sand by his side.

"Nothing." Melissa sighed, sitting up. "I have to leave next week."

"That's okay," Zack smiled, "We can keep in touch."

Melissa nodded, not really believe that once she went back to her normal life- well, as normal as it got- she'd have the time. She'd never told Zack what she did for a living.

"Wanna swim?" Zack offered, sitting up beside her.

Pulling off her shirt, Melissa nodded her consent. In the hot weather it was natural for her to wear swimmers under her clothes. Zack followed her lead, throwing his shirt in the sand next to hers. Melissa didn't worry about taking her jeans shorts off; she just threw her shoes down as she ran towards the surf, Zack right behind her.

Melissa let the waves pull her away from the shore, wet sand pooling around her feet and wet hair sticking to her face. Zack dived under the water and surfaced behind her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her backwards.

Giggling, both of them splashed their way back up to the surface, Melissa pushing Zack away from her.

"What's wrong? A little scared?" Zack called as Melissa attempted to swim out of his reach.

Melissa didn't reply, but squealed happily as he grabbed her waist and began to wiggle his fingers at her side.

"C'mon," Zack laughed, "admit you were scared and I'll stop tickling."

"No! Zack…" Melissa cried in between breaths of air as Zack continued his relentless assault on her sides. "I won't!"

The blonde shrugged and lifted her up, holding her slightly above the surf. A wave washed over them and she was pulled out of his grasp. He struggled against the wave for a moment, holding her around the waist as he fell backwards, laughing.

Melissa smiled as she helped him to his feet in the water, almost falling on top of him again.

"You might wanna watch what you're doing. You've knocked me over twice already today." Melissa said loudly, so she could be heard over the crashing waves.

"I will." Zack replied, paying more attention to her lips than the conversation. "Melissa…"

She raised her eyebrows and looked up, thoughtful hazel eyes staring into blue. "Yeah?"

Zack opened and closed his mouth before shaking his head. "Don't worry."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Zack smiled. "Nothing is wrong."

Melissa shook her head. "You were going to say something, and I think I know what it was."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Melissa murmured. "This."

Reaching up, she put her hand behind Zack's head, pulling him down and covering his lips with her own.

--

"_Day by day nothing seems to change, but pretty soon everything is different."_

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**There you go Mel, chapter one.  
Review.  
x**


	2. Living A Dream

**I'm meant to be on hiatus, but it's now twice that I've posted since I've said that. I can't resist my Melly bear though.  
Here you go, another chapter. **

**The only thing I own is the idea. Melissa belongs to x.Monster.x.**

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**Four weeks previous.**

Blue-green waves rolled in and onto the golden sandy shores as the sun set upon the beach. Looking from the footpath a few metres up, any passer-by would notice the abandoned beach ball lying in the sand. Looking closer, they may even notice the flip-flops and runners sitting on top of two shirts. But they would have to look very closely to notice the two figures in the water.

One was a few inches shorter than the other, her dark hair blowing slightly in the light breeze. The other was taller, with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. Zack hadn't planned on this happening, he didn't know what to expect. But Melissa had kissed him.

As the need for air became more and more vital, Melissa pulled away from the kiss, breathing heavily. A small smile crossed her face as Zack raised his head.

"Um, I-."

She was lost for words. What was there that she could really say? She'd kissed him. Melissa looked down at the crashing waves as she ran her thumb over her bottom lip. There went her plan on leaving men alone for a while. Three weeks after making that promise to herself, she'd gone and kissed someone.

"Hey." Putting his hand under her chin, Zack lifted Melissa's head up to face him.

"I'm sorry."

Shyly, Zack smiled. "Don't be." Leaning down he kissed Melissa gently before taking her hand. "Come on. We need to get back to the hotel."

Nodding, Melissa followed.

--

**Current day.**

"Melissa?"

The dark haired young woman looked up as her long-time friend, Mickie James, walked into the room.

"Are you still writing in that thing?" Mickie pointed to the dark leather diary that rested on Melissa's lap. "You never seem to put it down."

"After my holiday I didn't have time to write. It calms my nerves and I'm so damn nervous about tonight…" Melissa took a deep breath. "Sorry."

Mickie laughed and sat on the bench next to her friend. "Don't be. Becoming a part of the WWE is a huge thing. Be glad this week is going to be all tri-branded. From Sunday onwards, I won't be here to keep the guys away."

Melissa turned to look at Mickie. "Micks, I'm scared. I'm finally living my dream… But it seems so scary."

"Hey, I totally understand. You're new and you don't know anyone. You want to make a good impression. It's normal to be scared." Mickie gave her friend a hug. "Believe me- you'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Mickie nodded, smiling. "I'm positive, Missy. You're funny and friendly and lovable… Not to mention totally gorgeous. You'll need a pole to keep all the guys away."

"Very funny, Mickie." Melissa punched her friend playfully in the arm. "So, are there any you have your eye on?"

Mickie James laughed. "No way, hon. You wanna go grab something to eat from catering, or meet some of the guys?"

"Sure, let's go meet some people. I may as well get it over with." Melissa tucked her diary into the side of her bag and followed her friend from the locker room.

--

"Dude, you suck."

"No way, I'm being serious here!"

"Right and you're about as serious as Kelly denying she has implants."

Melissa tapped her fingers nervously on the side of her leg as she and Mickie James approached the door to the men's locker room. She could hear the conversation that was coming from inside and began to chew slightly on her lip. _'How did I get into this? Why did I decide to be a wrestler instead of something normal like a doctor or salesperson?' _

Mickie knocked on the door and stood, waiting for an answer. "Are you okay?" She asked Melissa, who smiled weakly.

"I'm fine, Mickie."

The door swung open quickly and Melissa smiled slightly at the sight. A tall, dark haired guy was leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing nothing but tight pants which were flared at the bottom. He obviously worked out every day and had a body that looked as if it could rival that of Adonis.

"Hey." He said to Mickie, glancing from her to Melissa.

"Hey, Morrison. Are you guys all decent in there?"

He glanced behind him before nodding. "Fresh blood, huh?"

"Something like that." Mickie James rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna let us in?"

Morrison stood back to allow Mickie James to enter and Melissa followed, smiling at Morrison as she entered who, much to her delight, smiled back. As she entered she glanced nervously around the room. It was well lit, and had lockers against one wall and a row of benches on another. There were plastic chairs scattered around and clothes strewn over the tops of the lockers and the bench.

"Guys, listen up!" Mickie James announced with an authoritative air, capturing the attention of those around her. "This is Melissa Anderson, she's Smackdown!'s new diva."

A wolf whistle came from the corner of the room, where a male with an arrogant look on his face was standing. "Is she related to Ken? He has a big mouth, and it might run in the family. She'll need it when we-."

"No, she's not." Mickie interrupted quickly, before the self proclaimed 'Lady Killer' could explain any further. "And if I hear one word from Melissa about you annoying her, Orton, you'll find that some parts of your anatomy no longer work."

His eyes widened and he moved his hands down to cover himself, earning a round of laughter from the room.

"That goes for all of you, not just Randy." Mickie added with a smile on her face.

Melissa laughed as her friend began to recall her history. Mickie James knew Melissa so well and could recite her wrestling history as if it were her own. As Mickie spoke, Melissa looked at the men scattered around the room. Randy was standing in the corner, playing with a thread on his shirt. A man Melissa would recognise anywhere was sitting on one of the benches wearing his own merchandise, as she'd expect. John Cena had been Melissa's least favourite superstar for as long as she could remember.

"So, how long are you here for?" Someone with a thick Southern accent called from the bench.

"I have a one year developmental contract and, if Vince likes what I'm doing, then I'll get a standard four year contract."

"Very nice." The male, average height with misty green eyes and blue and blonde hair smiled. "I'm Jeff, Jeff Hardy."

"It's nice to meet you." Melissa was well aware of the North Carolinian's high-flying antics.

"Melissa, I believe you already know Randy." Mickie James began to talk to her friend as the room broke out into chatter again. "That one over there… Well, you know who he is. Cena is as much of a loser in real life as his on-screen self is. Um, the guy who let us in is John Morrison."

"He's hot." Melissa mused.

Mickie James laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that. It's already hard for him to get in the door with his huge head; we don't want to suffocate any more than we already do."

Melissa looked around the room, hazel eyes scanning everyone quickly. "Hey, Micks?"

"Yeah?"

"Who are they? The blondes in the corner by the lockers?" Melissa asked slowly, frowning. They all looked alike, but had their differences. Melissa was sure she knew one of them. He looked up, his eyes widening slightly, before turning back to his friends.

"The taller one in the black shirt is Adam, or Edge to the fans. He's a heel, arguably the best there is. Orton is the only one who can rival him." Mickie James explained. "The one to his left is Curt. He was originally one of the 'Major Brothers', who were kind of like Edge's minions. They helped him cheat once by posing as him."

"And the other one?"

"He was the other Major Brother. He and Curt are part of the stable called 'La Familia', which also includes Edge, Chavo and Vickie."

Melissa nodded. "So what's his name?"

"Zack Ryder."

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**There you go, Mel.  
Review. :)**


	3. La Familia

**Here's the next part in my updating spree. I had my arm cyberly twisted into posting this earlier than I was going to. **

**For future reference, this is set just after the Edge/Vickie wedding was called off. It roughly follows the storyline, but I threw a few tri-branded shows in there for my own convenience. **

**All I own is the idea.**

**

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****Four weeks previous.**

"I'll miss you."

"Hey," Zack pushed stray hair back behind Melissa's ear. "We'll see each other again."

Melissa nodded. "I hope."

"We will." He leaned forwards and kissed her on the cheek before standing up. "But I really have to go. My flight will be here any second and I'm needed back at work."

Standing up, Melissa could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she silently willed them not to fall. "Okay." She didn't say any more, she couldn't.

Slowly, Zack reached around her and pulled her into a warm embrace. "It'll all be okay, Mel. But I need to go." He stood back and held her at arms length. "See you 'round."

Stepping back, Melissa watched Zack as he picked up his bag and headed towards the gate. He paused and turned, waving a last goodbye. Melissa waved back as the tears ran down her cheeks and streaked her eyeliner and mascara.

"Bye Zack." She whispered.

--

**Current day.**

"Do you want a sandwich?"

Melissa shook her head, lost in thought. _'Zack Ryder… That's my Zack, the Zack I met on holidays. Why did he look so uncomfortable? Why didn't he say hi? He just left…'_

"Mel?"

"Yeah."

"You're not hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Melissa continued to stare off into space.

Mickie James smiled. "You're hopelessly in love with Cena."

"Yea- what?"

Mickie James laughed, almost spilling the plastic cup full of water she was carrying. With a squeal, she avoided an attempted slap by her friend.

"That was cruel." Melissa sighed. "You shouldn't do that when I'm not with it."

"What's on your mind, babe? You're thinking about something, or someone. Oh God, please don't tell me you really _are_ hopelessly in love with Cena."

"Ew! No way, Micks."

"Then what're you thinking?" Mickie James sat her cup and tray on a table against the wall of the large catering room. "You're never this quiet."

"Zack Ryder."

"What about him?" Mickie James looked perplexed. "Ryder's a pretty cool guy."

Melissa shook her head. "Remember… On the phone? I said that I'd met someone. His name was Zack."

"It's a pretty common name, Missy."

"I know. But that's Zack. That's my Zack."

"Zack… But…Oh! He was off for about six weeks then. Are you gonna talk to him?" Mickie James realised.

"Of course." Melissa said, sounding a lot surer of herself than she felt. "I mean, I've missed him. We really had something special."

"Awesome! After lunch, I promised to meet with Dave about our tag match later on. You can come along and I can find out where Zack will be for you."

Not really listening, Melissa let Mickie James ramble about her and Zack. She nodded at what seemed like appropriate times and smiled, but her mind was elsewhere.

"So, what do you think?"

Melissa looked up. "Huh? Oh… Um, yeah, great."

"Good, so after we've eaten, we'll go back to the locker room where Dave will be waiting for me. I still don't know why they teamed me up with him. Dave isn't normally much more than a 'roided up loser according to most. He's actually kinda quiet."

"Alright," Melissa smiled weakly. "That sounds good.

-

"Dave?"

The tall, olive-skinned male stood, a smile stretching across his face. "Mickie James."

"Do you know where the Edgeheads are?"

"They'd be with Edge in his locker room, I presume." Dave said. "Why do you want them?"

Mickie nodded to Melissa who was standing quietly at the door, just watching the companions speak. "Mel here needs to see them."

Dave smiled at Melissa. "If you're headed from here, go left and at the end of the hall take a right. It'll be third door on your right."

"Thank you." Melissa smiled, then looked down as music emanated from her back pocket.

'_Would you find it in your heart,_

_To make this go away and _

_Let me rest in pieces…'_

"Sorry, I have to take this." She stepped outside the door and flipped her cell open. "Hello?"

"_Melissa? This is Vickie Guerrero. Are you busy?"_

"Not if you need to see me." Melissa silently thanked her new boss for putting off her meeting with Zack. "I can come over if you'd like me to."

"_That would be much appreciated. See you soon."_

Snapping the phone shut, Melissa went back into the locker room. "The wicked witch of Smackdown! has requested she see me. I'll talk to you two later."

Dave and Mickie said their goodbyes as Melissa headed off to her new boss' office. Vickie Guerrero was definitely not one of Melissa's favourite people, but she had to admit that Vickie did her job well.

Knocking on the door to Vickie's office- the one room she knew the way to easily- Melissa let herself in and sat in front of the auburn-haired woman.

"Melissa, nice to see you." Vickie offered her hand, which Melissa quickly shook. "I'd just like to talk to you quickly about your Smackdown! debut."

Melissa grinned. "I can't wait."

"I'd believe that. Now, divas don't normally have the largest fan bases. We set them out on their own and a lot of people look upon them as lower wrestlers, those who just want to get their faces on television but aren't very skilled in the ring. I've been told you're quite the opposite though?"

"That's right." Melissa nodded. "I've trained for a long time and Mickie James has taught me a lot. We've been best friends for as long as I can remember."

Vickie smiled approvingly. "That's good news for us. Now, where you go in this business is pretty much up to you. We'll start you off and you can do what you like from there."

"Where will I be 'starting off'"?

"That's what I wanted you here for. Instead of letting you out on your own, I figured you have the guts- and ability- to start off in our dominant stable here on Smackdown!. Of course, you'd be one of the "bad guys" so to speak," Vickie used air quotes there. "But you don't have to stay with them. It's just a starting point, you choose the direction you'd like to go in."

"Sorry," Melissa smiled sheepishly. "But can I ask what the stable is? I've been so busy, actually watching an episode of Smackdown! is near impossible for me."

"The stable here on Smackdown! is 'La Familia'. They're all heels, very dominant and have just lots one of their members- me. We were meant to be 'married', Edge and I, but he cheated on me with the planner." Vickie laughed. "I have so much work to do back here, it was the easiest thing to do; stay out for a while. So they need someone else to take my place."

"Which is where I come in."

"Exactly. They'll be here in a few minutes and I'll get you acquainted. You can all talk and decide what's going to happen."

Melissa pushed stray hair behind her ears. "Who- besides me- is in La Familia?"

"The 'leader' per se is Edge. His two 'minions', as I like to call them are Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder."

Melissa gulped. This was getting interesting.

"They basically do what they can to make sure he wins, even posing as him once. Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely are in La Familia too. Neely is like a bodyguard to Chavo, and does what Hawkins and Ryder do. Those two are known as the Edgeheads, or the Rated-R Entourage."

"Sounds great." Melissa smiled weakly. There was a knock at the door.

"Would you?"

Nodding, Melissa stood and straightened out the dark blue shirt she was wearing. She walked over to the door and pulled it open.

"Hi, can we-."

"Zack."

The blonde smiled weakly. "Melissa."

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**There you go Missy. **

**Review.  
:)**


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